Wall receptacle with improved connector terminal construction

ABSTRACT

This improved wall receptacle has a housing with slots in the front wall for receiving the prongs of electrical cord fittings and has terminals in the housing held in depressions of the housing and in position to contact with the prongs that are inserted through the slots. These terminals are constructed with barrels that grip conductors of a power cable and that can be secured to the cable before being inserted into the housing. In the preferred construction, the terminals are held in the housing by a back portion of the housing that is detachably connected to the portion into which the terminals fit. The construction can be made so that the power conductors require no bending for either entrance or termination. A ground connection can also be provided with the barrel clamping feature for the ground wire.

O United States Patent 1 1 1 111 3,725,841 Robinson et al. 1 Apr. 3, 1973 [54] WALL RECEPTACLE WITH 2,969,518 l/l96l Slater ..339 31 IMPROVED CONNECTOR TERMINAL CONSTRUCTION Primary Examiner-David H. Brown Assistant Examiner-Robert A. l-lafer [75] Inventors: Daniel E. Robinson, Metuchen;

Solomon Rubinstein, Fanwood, both Attorney Sandoe Hopgood & Cahmafde 57 ABSTRACT [73] Asslgnee: General Cable corporauol-l New This improved wall receptacle has a housing with slots York, NY.

1n the front wall for recelvmg the prongs of electrlcal [22] Filed: Apr. 9, 1971 cord fittings and has terminals in the'housing held in depressions of the housing and in position to contact 1 [211 No 32'723 with the prongs that are inserted through the slots. These terminals are constructed with barrels that grip 339/156 R conductors of a power cable and that can be secured [5 II!- Cl. ..H0ll' to the cable before being inserted into thc housing In Flfild 0f Search 339/14,211,2062O71208 the preferred construction, the terminals are held in 339/209 the housing by a back portion of the housing that is 276, 191, 192, 62, 63, 1 I07 detachably connected to the portion into which the terminals fit. The construction can be made so that References Cited the power conductors require no bending for either Y entrance or termination. A ground connection can UNITED STATES PATENTS also be provided with the barrel clamping feature fo 3,020,517 2/1962 Murphy ..339/226 R X the ground wire, 2,239,878 4/1941 Clayton ..339/l56 R 3,778,666 v 4/1965 Smith ..339/14 11 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures 30 3, I I 40 98 74 72 42 l 1 I08 H I I r I00 t ORS ATTOR EY s.

WALL RECEPTACLE WITH IMPROVED CONNECTOR TERMINAL CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in the inside construction of electric wall receptacles; and the invention is concerned more particularly with the terminals in the receptacle and the connections of the terminals with a power line and with a grounding wire, if the receptacle is one having a grounding wire.

One feature is that the terminals on the opposite sides of the receptacle are held in position by depressions or partitions of the housing and are not fastened to the housing. They can be taken out of the housing for connection with conductors of power cables. The

terminals are of special construction for securing clamping to the conductors by crimping or by barrels that close tightly on the conductors and that lock in clamping condition. This is an advantageous construction for connecting with the wiring harnesses of wall panels of factory built homes. I

In the preferred construction, the terminals are inserted into the housing and held against displacement by attaching a back portion to the housing. This back portion not only holds the terminals in the housing, but it also clamps the cable that comes into the housing. Another feature is that the terminals can be constructed so that the cable comes into the housing and connects with the terminals without having any bends in the cable.

In the construction illustrated herein, there is a grounding terminal in the receptacle for contact with a third prongof grounded electric fittings. This ground connection has its connection with a ground wire unsymmetrical to make a more compact construction and is held centered by a detachable fastening to the housing, but the lower end is held in place by the back portion of the housing. The ground wire is substantially straight with a slight offset to accommodate the barrel clamping lock.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts and all the views;

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing a wall receptacle of this invention connected with a wall;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the receptacle shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the receptacle shown in FIG. 2 with the back portion of the receptacle removed, the view being taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of one of the terminals shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the terminal shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an end view looking from the back of the receptacle, of the terminal shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view, greatly enlarged, of the terminal for the grounding connections of the receptacle shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 10 is a side view looking from the back of the receptacle, of the grounding terminal shown in FIG. 9;

and

FIG. 11 is a view taken of the line 11-11 ofFIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT has a detachable back portion 28 connected to the forward portion of the housing by detachable fastening means such as screws 30.

The receptacle has a bracket including a flange 32 and side walls 34 which hold the receptacle in the wall but this bracket forms no part of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the front of the receptacle 20. There are two sockets 38 in the front wall of the housing 26 and each of these sockets has two slots 40 into which the prongs of the end fitting on a drop cord are inserted. The receptacle shown also has openings 42 for receiving a third prong of a fitting which is used for grounding the drop cord There are flange means 44 at the upper and lower ends of the receptacle housing for preventing the receptacle from being pushed into the opening 22 (FIG. 1) and these flange means 44 which extend across portions of the wall 24 beyond the open-.

ing 22 are connected to the housing of the receptacle Y by screws 46 (FIG. 2).

Inside the housing 26 there are two terminals 50 and 52 (FIG. 3). The terminal 50 provides contacts for the prongs that extend into the slots 40 from one side of both of the sockets 38 and the terminal 52 provides contacts for the prongs which are inserted into both of the slots 40 onthe other side of the sockets 38. The upper end of the terminal 50 is bent over toward the left in FIG. 3 and then bent back on itself to provide a hairpin turn. There is a loop 54 at the end which provides spring resilience for the sides which extend downwardly so that these sides which include outwardly bent edges 56 and 57, best shown in FIG. 5, provide a flaring entrance for the prong of the drop cord fitting. The clearance between the downwardly extending portions of the terminal 50 below the loop 54 is somewhat less than the width of the drop cord prong so that the prong spreads the portions 56 and 57 in order to provide good contact between the terminal and the prong of the fitting. The loop 54 serves as a spring for holding the sides of the terminal in contact with the prong of the drop cord. The construction at the lower end of the terminal 50 is the same as at the upper end as shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7.

The terminal 50 is held in place by extending its upper and lower ends into recesses 60 formed in the inside surface of the housing 26; and there are other surfaces of the inside of the housing such as the surfaces 62 (FIG. 3) and the confronting surfaces 64 on the other side of the terminal 50.

The terminal 50 is inserted from the back of the housing 26 into the depressions 60 and between the confronting surfaces 62 and 64 and these depressions and confronting surfaces hold the terminal 50 against vertical displacement and against transverse displacement. The terminal is held against displacement forward by abutting against surfaces 70 on opposite sides of the slot 40 as shown in FIG. 4 and it is held against rearward displacement by the back portion 28 of the housing. This back portion 28 has a surface 72 which abuts against a barrel 74 formed on an extension 76 which is preferably of one piece construction with the remainder of the terminal 50 as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. The barrel 74 is formed by rolling the free end of the extension 76 into a loop which forms the barrel .74, and bending and .extending end portion 78 back along the part of the extension 76 which connects the loop or barrel 74 with the main body of the terminal 50 as shown in FIG. 5.

The end portion 78 is held tightly against the confronting face of the extension 76 by bending tabs 80 (FIG. 8) over the upper ends of the end portion 78 and downward on the far side of the extension 78. There are short projections 82 at the upper and lower edges of the extension 76 in position to project through openings 84 (FIG. 6) in the tabs 80. The barrel 84 is closed tightly around a conductor 90 (FIG. of a conductor 92 (FIG. 4) which extends into the receptacle housing through an opening 94 in the top of the back portion 28. After the barrel has been tightly clamped around the conductor 90, and the end 78 has been pressed firmly into contact with the extension 76, the tabs 80 are bent down to lock the barrel closed in clamped condition on the conductor 90. A

Referring again to FIG. 3, the terminal 52 is of the same construction as the terminal 50 but with modifications in its shape to adapt it for use on the right hand side of the receptacle whereas the terminal 50 is used on the left hand side, when viewing the receptacle from the front.

There is a third terminal 96 in the housing for providing contact with the prongs of a fitting which come through the openings 42 (FIG. 4). This terminal 96 has spring surfaces 98 which are located in position to touch the prongs of the fitting which comes through the opening 42 and both of these contact portions 98 are connected with a main body portion 100 of the terminal 98. Toward the upper end of this main body portion 100, there is a part 102 which is bent inwardly and forwardly to an end portion 104 that abuts against the inside of the front wall of the housing and has a screw threaded projection 106 for receiving a screw 108 (FIG. 4) which attaches the terminal 96 to the housing.

Near the lower end of the body portion 100 of the third terminal 96 there is an extension 110 which carries a barrel 112 similar in construction to the barrel 74 already described and similiarly clamped by tabs 80 bent over the extension 110 in the same way as described for the terminal 50. Parts in FIGS. 9, l0 and 11 which are similar to those shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are indicated by the same reference characters which a prime appended.

The barrel 72 for the terminal 50 (FIG. 3) and the corresponding barrel 72 for the terminal 52 are spaced from one another and located below the opening 94 (FIG. 4) at the upper end of the housing. These barrels 72 and 72 are spaced apart, as shown in FIG. 3, and may be spaced somewhat more widely than the conductors which come into the housing through the top opening so that some offset in the conductors is required in order to have the conductors enter the bar rels 72 and 72'. However, the conductors do enter the barrels 72 and 72 in a straight line and such offset as may be necessary above the barrels and below the top opening for the cable is very slight and in no way comparable to the loops which must be formed on the ends of conductors in order to connect them with screw terminals as commonly used in many outlet receptacles. Similiarly the conductor which comes down to the barrel 112 is at the center of the receptacle but there must be a slight ofiset at the location in FIG. 4 because of the construction of the third terminal 96. As in the case of the barrels for the other terminals, the conductor 90 is straight where it is terminated on the terminal for the grounding connection. The conductor 90 is the ground wire for the receptacle.

\ The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, but changes and modifications can be made and some features can be used in different combinations without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wall receptacle including in combination a front portion of a housing for. insertion into an opening in a wall, said front portion enclosing a chamber with depressions therein for receiving contact terminals, said depressions in the front portion having confronting surfaces for holding the contact terminals against displacement in directions other than rearward, said chamber having an open back, a plurality of right hand and left hand outlet openings in a front face of the housing for receiving the prongs of two different plugin electrical fittings, two contact terminals in the depressions in the housing and each of which has surfaces that fit inside the outlet openings for receiving the prongs on one side of the plug-in fittings, one of the contact terminals having a midportion extending between the right hand outlet openings-and the other having a midportion extending between the left hand outlet openings, each of the contact terminals fitting freely into the'depression for it in the front portion of the housing, an electrical connection on each of the contact terminals with a conductor-receiving opening generally parallel to said front face, the electrical connection being integral with the contact terminal and located rearwardly beyond the said midportion and the remainder of the contact terminal to leave space for a power conductor beyond said opening unobstructed by the contact terminal, a back portion of the housing closing the open back of the front portion and contacting with each of said electrical connections to hold the contact terminals in their depressions, and means securing the back portion to the front portion of the housing.

2. The wall receptacle described in claim 1 charac-v terized by each of the electrical connections including a rolled barrel into which the end of a conductor of a power cable is inserted, the conductors being securely clamped in the barrels of the connections.

3. The wall receptacle described in claim 2 characterized by the electrical connections being of one piece construction with their respective terminals and extending beyond the rearward end of the forward portion of the housing, and the rearward portion of the housing having forwardly opening sockets formed therein for receiving said electrical connections and contacting with them to prevent rearward movement of said connections and their respective terminals and an opening in the housing at the junction of the front and back portions of the housing clamping the power cable between the portions of the housing where said cable enters the housing, the rolled barrels extending in directions generally parallel to one another, and at least one of the rolled barrels being in alignment with said opening in the housing so that a conductor can extend held in place in the housing only by confronting surfaces of the depressions in the front portion and by contact with the rear portion of the housing when the rear portion is secured to the front portion.

6. A'wall receptacle including in combination a front portion of a housing for insertion into an opening in a wall, said front portion having an open back, a plurality of outlet openings in a front face of the housing for receiving the prongs of plug-in electrical fittings, two contact terminals in the housing and each of which has surfaces that fit inside the outlet openings for receiving the prongs on one side of the plug-in fittings, one of the contact terminals extending to the right hand outlet openings and the other to the left hand outlet openings, partitions and surfaces in the housing forming separate depressions for receiving the different contact terminals and for holding the contact terminals in position in the receptacle, each of the contact terminals fitting freely into the depression for it in the housing, an electrical connection on each of the contact terminals and integral therewith and extending rearwardly beyond the rest of the terminal to the back of the housing, a back portion of the housing that closes the open back of the front portion and that contacts with said electrical connection to hold the contact terminals in their depressions, and means securing the back portion to the front portion of the housing, characterized by the receptacle also having outlet openings in its front face for receiving a grounding prong of a plug-in electrical fitting, a third contact terminal in the housing and secured to the front portion of the housing and having surfaces in position to contact with the grounding prong of electrical fittings inserted into the receptacle, and an electrical connection of the third contact terminal extending rearwardly beyond the rest of the third contact terminal and into position for receiving a conductor extending generally parallel to other conductors extending into the housing and to the electrical connections of the other terminals, at the rearward open end of the front portion of the housing.

7. The wall receptacle described in claim 6 characterized by the electrical connections for all of the contact terminals in the housing including rolled barrels that extend in generally parallel directions for receiving straight end portions of conductors of a power cable.

8. The wall receptacle described in claim 7 characterized by the barrels for the first two contact terminals being at a higher elevation in the housing than the barrel for the third contact terminal, and the barrels for the first two contacts being spaced apart and having a center space between them for passage of a conductor from the power cable down to the electrical connection for the third contact terminal.

9. A wall receptacle including in combination a front portion of a housing for insertion into an opening in a wall, said front portion having an open back, a plurality of outlet openings in a front face of the housing for receiving the prongs of plug-in electrical fittings, two contact terminals in the housing and each of which has surfaces that fit inside the outlet openings for receiving the prongs on one side of the plug-in fittings, one of the contact terminals extending to the right hand outlet openings and the other to the left hand openings, partitions and surfaces in the housing forming separate depressions for receiving the different contact terminals and for holding the contact terminals in position in the receptacle, each of the contact terminals fitting freely into the depression for it in the housing, an electrical connection on each of the contact terminals and integral therewith, the electrical connection of each of the contact terminals being at the back of the housing, a back portion of the housing that closes the open back of the front portion and that holds the contact terminals in their depressions, and means securing the back portion to the front portion of the housing, characterized by the receptacle also having outlet openings in its front face for receiving a grounding prong of a plug-in electrical fitting, a third contact terminal in the housing having surfaces in position to contact with the grounding prong and electrical fittings inserted into the receptacle, and an electrical connection in the third contactterminal at the rearward open end of the front portion of the housing, and further characterized by the third contact terminal being generally U- shaped with the opposite ends of the U-shaped surfaces in position for contact with the grounding prong of an electrical fitting, an extension between the ends of the U-shaped terminal extending forward and connected with the front wall of the housing for holding the third contact terminal in the front portion of the housing, the electrical connection for the third terminal extending therefrom in the opposite direction from the extension that connects with the front wall and toward the back of the housing.

10. The wall receptacle described in claim 1 characterized by each of the electrical connections including a rolled over barrel that clamps around a conductor of a power cable, and means for holding the barrel clamped on the conductor.

11. The wall receptacle described in claim 10 characterized by the means for holding the barrel clamped on the conductor comprising an extension portion that connects one side of the barrel to therest of the contact terminal, a projection from the other side of the barrel extending generally parallel to the extension, lugs extending from the upper and lower edges of the projection, and tabs extending from the upper and lower edges of said extension and adapted to be bent over the upper and lower edges of the projection and downward parallel to said extension on the other side of the projection to hold the barrel firmly clamped on a conductor, the tabs having openings where said tabs are bent and over said lugs, the lugs extending through the openings in the tabs when the tabs are bent over the projection. 

1. A wall receptacle including in combination a front portion of a housing for insertion into an opening in a wall, said front portion enclosing a chamber with depressions therein for receiving contact terminals, said depressions in the front portion having confronting surfaces for holding the contact terminals against displacement in directions other than rearward, said chamber having an open back, a plurality of right hand and left hand outlet openings in a front face of the housing for receiving the prongs of two different plug-in electrical fittings, two contact terminals in the depressions in the housing and each of which has surfaces that fit inside the outlet openings for receiving the prongs on one side of the plug-in fittings, one of the contact terminals having a midportion extending between the right hand outlet openings and the other having a midportion extending between the left hand outlet openings, each of the contact terminals fitting freely into the depression for it in the front portion of the housing, an electrical connection on each of the contact terminals with a conductor-receiving opening generally parallel to said front face, the electrical connection being integral with the contact terminal and located rearwardly beyond the said midportion and the remainder of the contact terminal to leave space for a power conductor beyond said opening unobstructed by the contact terminal, a back portion of the housing closing the open back of the front portion and contacting with each of said electrical connections to hold the contact terminals in their depressions, and means securing the back portion to the front portion of the housing.
 2. The wall receptacle described in claim 1 characterized by each of the electrical connections including a rolled barrel into which the end of a conductor of a power cable is inserted, the conductors being securely clamped in the barrels of the connections.
 3. The wall receptacle described in claim 2 characterized by the electrical connections being of one piece construction with their respective terminals and extending beyond the rearward end of the forward portion of the housing, and the rearward portion of the housing having forwardly opening sockets formed therein for receiving said electrical connections and contacting with them to prevent rearward movement of said connections and their respective terminals and an opening in the housing at the junction of the front and back portions of the housing clamping the power cable between the portions of the housing where said cable enters the housing, the rolled barrels extending in directions generally parallel to one another, and at least one of the rolled barrels being in alignment with said opening in the housing so that a conductor can extend through said opening and into the aligned barrel without requiring bending of the conductor.
 4. The wall receptacle described in claim 3 characterized by the back portion of the housing and the front portion, except for the plug contact openings, being free of openings through which moist air can circulate through the housing to cause condensation and particle deposit in the housing.
 5. The wall receptacle described in claim 1 characterized by the contact terminals being removable from the housing for connection with the cable and being held in place in the housing only by confronting surfaces of the depressions in the front portion and by contact with the rear portion of the housing when the rear portion is secured to the front portion.
 6. A wall receptacle including in combination a front portion of a housing for insertion into an opening in a wall, said front portion having an open back, a plurality of outlet openings in a front face of the housing for receiving the prongs of plug-in electRical fittings, two contact terminals in the housing and each of which has surfaces that fit inside the outlet openings for receiving the prongs on one side of the plug-in fittings, one of the contact terminals extending to the right hand outlet openings and the other to the left hand outlet openings, partitions and surfaces in the housing forming separate depressions for receiving the different contact terminals and for holding the contact terminals in position in the receptacle, each of the contact terminals fitting freely into the depression for it in the housing, an electrical connection on each of the contact terminals and integral therewith and extending rearwardly beyond the rest of the terminal to the back of the housing, a back portion of the housing that closes the open back of the front portion and that contacts with said electrical connection to hold the contact terminals in their depressions, and means securing the back portion to the front portion of the housing, characterized by the receptacle also having outlet openings in its front face for receiving a grounding prong of a plug-in electrical fitting, a third contact terminal in the housing and secured to the front portion of the housing and having surfaces in position to contact with the grounding prong of electrical fittings inserted into the receptacle, and an electrical connection of the third contact terminal extending rearwardly beyond the rest of the third contact terminal and into position for receiving a conductor extending generally parallel to other conductors extending into the housing and to the electrical connections of the other terminals, at the rearward open end of the front portion of the housing.
 7. The wall receptacle described in claim 6 characterized by the electrical connections for all of the contact terminals in the housing including rolled barrels that extend in generally parallel directions for receiving straight end portions of conductors of a power cable.
 8. The wall receptacle described in claim 7 characterized by the barrels for the first two contact terminals being at a higher elevation in the housing than the barrel for the third contact terminal, and the barrels for the first two contacts being spaced apart and having a center space between them for passage of a conductor from the power cable down to the electrical connection for the third contact terminal.
 9. A wall receptacle including in combination a front portion of a housing for insertion into an opening in a wall, said front portion having an open back, a plurality of outlet openings in a front face of the housing for receiving the prongs of plug-in electrical fittings, two contact terminals in the housing and each of which has surfaces that fit inside the outlet openings for receiving the prongs on one side of the plug-in fittings, one of the contact terminals extending to the right hand outlet openings and the other to the left hand openings, partitions and surfaces in the housing forming separate depressions for receiving the different contact terminals and for holding the contact terminals in position in the receptacle, each of the contact terminals fitting freely into the depression for it in the housing, an electrical connection on each of the contact terminals and integral therewith, the electrical connection of each of the contact terminals being at the back of the housing, a back portion of the housing that closes the open back of the front portion and that holds the contact terminals in their depressions, and means securing the back portion to the front portion of the housing, characterized by the receptacle also having outlet openings in its front face for receiving a grounding prong of a plug-in electrical fitting, a third contact terminal in the housing having surfaces in position to contact with the grounding prong and electrical fittings inserted into the receptacle, and an electrical connection in the third contact terminal at the rearward open end of the front portion of the housing, and furthEr characterized by the third contact terminal being generally U-shaped with the opposite ends of the U-shaped surfaces in position for contact with the grounding prong of an electrical fitting, an extension between the ends of the U-shaped terminal extending forward and connected with the front wall of the housing for holding the third contact terminal in the front portion of the housing, the electrical connection for the third terminal extending therefrom in the opposite direction from the extension that connects with the front wall and toward the back of the housing.
 10. The wall receptacle described in claim 1 characterized by each of the electrical connections including a rolled over barrel that clamps around a conductor of a power cable, and means for holding the barrel clamped on the conductor.
 11. The wall receptacle described in claim 10 characterized by the means for holding the barrel clamped on the conductor comprising an extension portion that connects one side of the barrel to the rest of the contact terminal, a projection from the other side of the barrel extending generally parallel to the extension, lugs extending from the upper and lower edges of the projection, and tabs extending from the upper and lower edges of said extension and adapted to be bent over the upper and lower edges of the projection and downward parallel to said extension on the other side of the projection to hold the barrel firmly clamped on a conductor, the tabs having openings where said tabs are bent and over said lugs, the lugs extending through the openings in the tabs when the tabs are bent over the projection. 